Saturday, August 13, 2005

Where Are They Now: Betty Cantor

(Betty is on the far right on the pictures-taken 2/14/04 @ Merle Saunders' 70th Birtday party)Who Is She?Betty Cantor-Jackson worked for the Grateful Dead as one of their primary recordists from 1967 until 1985. Her recordings are fan favorites and have been dubbed "Betty Boards."

Betty does the sound for Jerry Joseph & the Jackmormons 2004The live recording production of Mouthful of Copper was handled by the legendary Betty Cantor-Jackson who produced and engineered classic records by the Grateful Dead including: Workingman's Dead, Dead Set, Live Dead, Reckoning and several Jerry Garcia solo projects. Cantor-Jackson also engineered the Apocalypse Now Soundtrack and has worked with countless artists over the last thirty years. Mouthful of Copper was mixed and mastered by Alex Lowe in Atlanta, GA at Southern Living at its Finest Studio. The final results are dynamic and torrential.Betty does the sound for May Daze May 25-27, 2005Sound is being spearheaded and will be run by none other than Betty Cantor-Jackson, who, if you don't already know, was the Grateful Dead's sound engineer from about 1967/68-to about 1980. Anyone who has collected GD, NRPS, JGB shows will almost immediately know Betty's name as synonymous with some of the best live recordings in the genre - Betty Boards.

Betty does Sound for the Dark Star Orchestra"There was something very productive about the team of Bob & Betty," Matthews reflected. She had an ability to be an extension of me on the stage and to do what it took (and then some) to make the things happen that needed to happen. We were of a mind-set that was similar to what it is like to play in a band with another musician. When Betty is being my counterpart on stage — dealing with the microphones and where they go, interfacing with the band, and addressing the other technical activities that occur simultaneously with regard to the PA and the equipment — she knows how to do it. That’s what we did together, and she took care of that really well. I could always count on her if something needed to be done, regardless of the challenge."

Recently, the team of Matthews and Betty Cantor-Jackson reunited for the first time in nearly 25 years in order to capture a performance by Dark Star Orchestra at San Francisco’s Fillmore Auditorium on May 8, 2004, and this is the subject of Live at the Fillmore — a DVD and CD set that serves as the first foray for Matthews’ new record label ArSeaEm Recording.

Fire razes apartments in Forest KnollsBy Anne BakerA rambling, three-apartment home in Forest Knolls burned to the ground last week, injuring one resident who refused medical treatment and worrying neighbors in the densely populated canyon.The cause of the early-morning fire at 161 Montezuma Ave. June 20 remains undetermined, fire officials said this week. Damage is estimated at $225,000.The home, owned by Rocco D'Agostino of San Francisco and Forest Knolls, was across the street from a house that burned 10 years ago, leaving two people dead. The latest blaze was the fifth at homes within sight of each other along narrow Montezuma Road near downtown."The trees were starting to catch fire, and I was afraid it was coming this way," said Anne McClain, who lives across the street. "We realized that if that got out of hand, the whole canyon would go. That's what got the whole neighborhood worried."Firefighters arrived within nine minutes after being called at 5:16 a.m. Thursday, but flames had already spread to the entire structure. The fire was controlled within an hour. Not even a wooden stud was left standing, and a 50-foot patch of rocky hillside was burned nearby.Marin County firefighter Chris Collins said firetrucks had raced to Forest Knolls from a deck fire in Lucas Valley. There were 12 trucks crammed into driveways and turnouts, he said, with firefighters keeping the blaze from spreading to neighboring homes.Crowds in the wayFirefighters did a great job despite the crowds who got in the way, said Amy Valens, whose window looks over the burned home. Noting the house was one of the many old wooden homes in the area, Valens added, "Even when the firemen come quickly, it's too late ... I thought we had only moments until our house would be in flames too."Ken Bostjancic, a contractor who lives next door, said the home was in "bad shape," had all-wood paneling, and an unusual electric-fan industrial heater."There were utility buildings and little sheds [D'Agostino] had built on it," Bostjancic said. The owner "had partitioned his area in small cubicles and stored a lot of stuff."Neighbors are now urging each other to develop a disaster plan in case another fire or an earthquake hits the canyon, Valens said.What witnesses sawJesse Poets, who was staying nearby, said D'Agostino silently watched the home burn while one tenant, who neighbors knew only as Betty, walked in circles quietly repeating, "I called 911." Another tenant had just moved all her things in and was out of town during the blaze, Poets said.McClain, who said there was quick tenant turnover at 161 Montezuma Rd., reported one fire victim used the yard hose to put water on her arm and then left.Tenant Betty Cantor-Jackson had second degree burns on one arm, but refused paramedic's treatment, Firefighter Collins confirmed, adding he has since been unable to locate anyone who lived in the home. Cantor-Jackson had given unverifiable reports of electrical problems in her unit, he said.Previous fires nearbyCollins stressed the importance of homeowners clearing tree limbs and brush around structures. Had this fire happened in October, when moisture is low, damage would have been more widespread, he said.Two other homes on that same stretch of Montezuma Avenue burned down in the 1950s, Valens noted. One was on land she now owns. In the other two fires across the street, the home of the late musician Luther Tucker was razed in October 1988. Next door, in August 1987, fire claimed the lives of Steve Hope and Valens' friend Carolyn Welles.

Ok, that was weird, spelling mistakes and email confusion. it's her "actual tech.....' not "actually" for capturing the sound,but more importantly my name is David Ride and, seperately, my email is gadaji_man@hotmail.com

Betty is actually here with me now playing with her Grandson!! She is a fantastic person and a wonderful Grandma. She is always looking for work on new and exceiting projects. She spends her Sundays recording the choir and band at the world famous Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco.Michelle mdowusa@yahoo.com